Carl Zeiss Jena lens


Status
Not open for further replies.

morganoh

Senior Member
Dec 24, 2002
820
0
16
49
Bishan
www.pbase.com
Has any one use a CARL ZEISS JENA lens before?

I had found out that they had lens for Pentax bodys and would like to try out the 35-70mm

Any commends

Thank you
 

i had a CZJ 80mm F2.8 b4,i use it with an adaptor on my Nikon,dun find them wonderful leh..So so nia color seems to be on the *cool* side,IMO my nikkors primes produce far better colors and contrast.
Pictures of my dog taken using the CZJ lens were shown to my neighbour and he commented that photographs taken with the nikon is so much better..
u have focus the lens with the aperture wide open 1st then stop down to the f-stop desired,very troublesome.

Cheers !
 

Its not worth it to use pentax CZJ lenses on Nikon bodies as the adaptor has a lens element in it which degrades image quality. Use a new Pentax/Canon/Minolta body instead since the adaptors for these are just metal rings. I have a CZJ 35mm which i use with a Minolta and the picture quality and contrast is great.
 

CZJ does have some very nice primes, though I've not heard about their zooms. If you intend to play with some CZJs, the best solution may be to get a used M42 mount camera such as the Pentax Spotmatic, some series of the Chinon, Zenits, Practika etc.

Here's the troublesome part. M42 mount cameras are old and often use a mercury oxide battery that's no longer available or hard to obtain. There are some replacement batteries available but the difference in voltage (1.35V vs 1.5V) may affect some cameras' metering system. So if you decide to get one such camera, be sure to read up on its power source ability if you require the meter to be working/accurate.

Finally, it's said that much of these European glass is soft wide-opened and sharp when stopped down, and I would expect it to be so especially for a 80mm, the somewhat cultish focal length among portrait shooters. Nikkors are said to be sharp even when relatively wide. So I guess you can't compare these 2 - they are probably designed with a different goal in mind.
 

reno77 said:
Its not worth it to use pentax CZJ lenses on Nikon bodies as the adaptor has a lens element in it which degrades image quality. Use a new Pentax/Canon/Minolta body instead since the adaptors for these are just metal rings. I have a CZJ 35mm which i use with a Minolta and the picture quality and contrast is great.


Does that means that if the Carl zesis Jena lens would produce a much better pic quality if it has a built in adpator.

I am looking forward to buy a Carl Zesis Jenazoom II 35-70mmf3.5-4.8
If it has a built in K-mount would the quality be better than a SMC pentax lens
 

I'm not a Pro with CZJ lenses but i havnet seen any with built in adaptors. Majority are M42 mounts. Also I have not heard good reviews about older zoom lenses. The Primes can exceed those built today but the zooms were supposed to be worse.

Are you talking about SMC lenses of today or the older M42 SMCs ? I got 1 M42 50/1.4 SMC Takumar which is excellent. The K mount versions that came afterwards are inferior to the M42 versions.

If you want Pro advice you can ask Parlin44 he is a expert in this field :)
 

There might be some lenses with a modified mount. A friend actually owns a Zenitar 16/2.8 Fish Eye in native EOS mount... it's either this lens with this mount is really rare, or it's been separately modified to fit. So I suppose a CZJ with native K-mount might be possible although I've not heard or seen one... the other fellas who are more knowledgable might be able to share something.

I suppose if you want to play with M42 CZJs it's the primes they are known for. Don't buy the brand, buy the lens. Do some research on that particular lens you are looking at and see if people agree or disagree that it's a good lens. All manufacturers make both good and crappy lenses, so it's worthwhile to research.

I heard good things about the SMC Takumar 50/1.4 as well, and that the later M and A series in K-mount are not as good. But it seems Pentax FA 50/1.4 is another winner.
 

morganoh said:
Does that means that if the Carl zesis Jena lens would produce a much better pic quality if it has a built in adpator.

I am looking forward to buy a Carl Zesis Jenazoom II 35-70mmf3.5-4.8
If it has a built in K-mount would the quality be better than a SMC pentax lens


I had one of these jena zoom (plasticized) which ACTUAL manufactured in Japan by Cosina, i shot a few roll, frustrated, gave up in 1997. Never expect a lens to be so lousy (maybe i am comparing to my primes), but certain focal range in the mid still usage only.
 

Status
Not open for further replies.